i'm cautiously optimistic about it. >> reporter: in fact, barack obama won this state handily in 2008 he was well ahead here this year until the first debate, when mitt romney gained ground. >> when mitt romney led bain, hundreds of plants, factories, and stores were shuttered. workers saw their wages slashed, their jobs sent overseas. >> look at the evidence of the last four years. under the president's policies, middle income americans have been buried. hay ear just being crushed. >> reporter: for local citizens that's meant a flood of ads, stuffed mailboxes, thousands of phone calls and knocks on their doors. by one recent count, this area is the most saturated political market in the nation. the national campaign for the presidency has come down to a battle for a relatively small number of swing counties and brown county here is one of them for the competing parties, everything now depends on organization, the so-called ground game. ben sparks is communication director for the romney campaign in wisconsin. >> the key to winning races in wisconsin is enthusiasm and voter intensity.